Tied Until the End
by Eazy E 4 life
Summary: What happens when destiny forces you to do thing her way. It is about an Hispanic teenager whose calm life is completely messed up by a terrific accident... involving zombies, of course... Read and Review, the story is much better than the summary. duh!
1. Chapter 1

_**Tied Until the End**_

_**Notes : First off, this may sound like a rerun of my other story about Resident Evil, but it is not. I got a lot of positive feedback, but the only point that bugged readers was the characters. So I wanted to start from new, and make a brand-new, completely different, 3**__**rd**__** person style story. Hope you like it...**_

''Juan Garcia?''

''Here.''

The teacher turned her attention to the teenage male sitting right next to her, alone in his seat. She checked his name on the list and moved on to the next student. Juan Garcia was a normal teen. That was the way he was perceived by his fellow comrades in class. Often silent, Juan was the type to think a lot, and not do much. He did not like to act if it was not worth it. He analyzed every situation, pondering whether it was worth it or not to make a move. It made him look a bit too intellectual for his own tastes, but it had saved Juan from quite a large number of unpleasant occasions.

Physically, his style reflected his personality. He had no need for recognition of any kind. He just wanted to fold in the crowd easily. Wearing a pair of blue jeans, a deep blue shirt with a black T-shirt under and a pair of black sneakers. He was pretty much in the normal height and weight, which helped him not getting too much attention. He liked to be with some friends, but he did not like when it was too noisy. He had slight beard, which was surprisingly dark for a teenager. Heritage from his Hispanic background.

His mother was Puerto Rican, and his father, whom he had never met, had been of Mexican descent. After his father had ran away when he was under one-year-old, he had been raised by his mother until the age of four, in a small town outside of Nashville, Tennessee. His mother was both alcoholic and drug addict, so she had no job, no money, and no life quality. She then went into rehab, so he had to move all the way to New Jersey to live with his aunt, whose husband had been killed in a work accident two years ago.

He had luck from there on. His 55 years old aunt had never worked of her life. But when her husband died, she figured she had to start doing so. But before she could find a job, the government came knocking at her door. At first she did not understand when the man working for the U.S. government talked about her husband and his work, but she clicked when he started talking about insurances policies. So she was left alone with a two story house, a car, a few pieces of furniture, and 500 000$ U.S. in insurance money.

That's when Juan came to live with her. She took care of him like her very own son. Every night, before sleep, she would kneel and pray to thanks god for giving her all that she needed to give Juan a normal existence, at least from now on.

So, overnight, Juan had his life totally changed. Instead of having his mother drunk in the living room, he had his aunt, always there to listen to him, to talk with him, to reassure him. After a year, he started going to school. He made a few friends, but was from time to time victim of racism in this upper class neighborhood. So he learned to keep a low profile, to avoid other kids' comments.

Juan was very serious, and he reached high school without much problem. When he arrived in this bigger school, he made more friends, because people were more open to who he was. Unlike his previous school, people in high school were from various ethnic background. Black, Asian, Portuguese,

all sorts of people. So it was easy to find other people like him, that had experienced the same sort of thing he had been through.

Another great turn of his teenage was when he started searching for a part-time job. He Made application for dozens of jobs, until one job called back. He had a interview set for the next Monday with the local grocery store's manager. After seeing this formal young man entering the room, dressed very simply, and expressing himself in a polite and proper English, the manager immediately liked Juan. He was hired after ten minutes of interview. On his first day at the job, he was relieved to see a few familiar faces in the small crowd of new employees.

In the middle of the row, he saw Christopher, a guy he knew. He chatted a bit with him. But then he heard somebody call him, in a shy female voice. He turned around to see a girl he could not recognize immediately.

After a few seconds thinking, he found the answer in the light blue eyes of the girl facing him. It was Stephanie. He had met her a few months back. He only knew her name and face, nothing more. She was barely recognizable in this work uniform. Stephanie was the type to be the beauty queen. She had been in the school's basket-ball team for a while, and she was the school's vice president. She was the very example of the perfect popular teenage girl.

And yes, she was of an outrageous beauty. Her fine facial traits, accentuated by her shoulder length dark brown hair, made every man in the school go crazy. She had a body that screamed sensuality, and that, Juan knew that. But the one thing that Juan had seen that most man could not see, was also the one thing that made him want her even more than her body. Her eyes. She had light blue, sort of grayish, eyes, which looked huge, especially when she was happy.

But Juan had no chances with her. He knew it. She was nice to him, but in a sort of pity way. She almost treated him like a kid. And that very day, it all changed. They worked together often, and soon, Juan proved of a serious help, his height and muscles being of use for all kind of grocery work.

That was two month ago. Right now, Juan was sitting in the school bus, ready for the end of year party, at a nearby amusement park. Even though none of Juan's friends could come, he felt like he had to go there. It was the thing to do. And that was at 99 for Stephanie...

_Hope you liked it. Leave me a review. Don't worry, this is only the start. Basically, this will be sort of a fanficition on Dead Rising, in a Resident Evil universe._ _That doesn't mean I won't continue my other story, The Savior. Like Isaid in the intro notes, it's just that I wanted to put in some more original characters, and to detail them more. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 : A beautiful day**

Gazing out the window, lost in his chain of thoughts, Juan's eyes passed on a girl wearing a purple sweater running for the bus. He knew that face. It was Stephanie. Juan couldn't help but smile. She had come.

She climbed the few stairs leading to the bus itself, apologizing to the driver for being late. She walked passed the driver, but stopped in front of Juan.

''Hey... good to see you...'' she said, her voice sickening by it's sweetness.

''Good to see you too...'' Juan replied, unsure of what to answer.

He was sort of shy with girls, but he knew being shy would lead nowhere. He had to be the man, because she would not.

Continuing toward the rear of the bus, Stephanie looked around, realizing there was no place to sit. She went back to the front, and stopped once more in front of Juan.

''Can I sit here?'' she asked, a imperceivable part of shyness in her voice.

Even thought she was popular and all, she was still shy about people she did not know properly. And Juan was one of the few people that could give her this feeling. She knew him for a while, but he was not like her other friends. He was much more silent, and much more mysterious.

''Of course...''Juan said, his voice as comforting as it could be.

She smiled a bit, and sat near him. He smiled back the best he could, even thought smiling was not his passion. He just did not get the trick. When he smiled, it mostly looked forced, and insincere. She he usually did not smile. But for her, he made an exception. Because he could not help but smile when he saw her.

''So, you work this week?''

''Yeah... Friday, from nine to eleven.''

''Night shift... that's hard...''

''It'd be easier if I wasn't alone to close the store.''

''I could... come over... and help you.''

''You won't get paid, M. Warren doesn't want more than one employee at the register past nine...''

''Well then I'll come as benevolent...''

She did not answer with words. She just smiled widely. A very true smile. And, at the exact same time, Juan could see a burst of light illuminating her eyes during a split second. When she smiled, her eyes where a spectacle not to miss. It was the ultimate reward for the one who would make her happy. A glimpse at this moment of pure magic was priceless to Juan.

For the first time since he had moved in New Jersey, he was truly content. He woke up every morning and made a short prayer to god to thanks him for putting this girl on his path of life. Just being friends with her made Juan feel euphoric. But a small part deep in his soul told him he needed more than that.

''So, Stephanie, you like roller coasters?''

''Yeah...''

''You don't look too sure...'' Juan said, grinning widely.

''Right... I'm not a big fan of those...''

''Me neither.'' Juan added, more to comfort her than to express his opinion.

The bus rumbled, and they were on their way. The park was at about half-an-hour of the school. During the rather short trip, Juan and Stephanie chatted calmly. Juan listened to every single word Stephanie pronounced, unable to get his eyes to look somewhere else than on her. At a point, Juan realized that they were pretty close in comparison to the other passengers that shared a seat. As a matter of fact, they were barely separated by ten centimeters. He could feel her arm resting against his.

The bus turned, and she leaned against him due to the force of the fairly sharp corner. He felt her hair playing in his neck, her touch on his arm. He wanted to stay that way for the rest of his life. But, eventually, she was able to get back to her place, and those significant ten centimeters stood as an obstacle one more.

He could not hide it. He felt something strong for her. He could not properly say he loved her, because that word had implications he did not fully comprehend, and would maybe never, but he could at least say he would try to do so. Though he was sixteen, Juan had little experience with girls. He hated to admit it, but he never had a real girlfriend in the past. He was not sure if he was up for this.

But, at the present moment, he did not think about such complicated matters. When he was with her, he never did. Everything was simple, clear of any ambiguities. It was only after, when he looked back, that he found some uncertainties in his relationship with Stephanie.

After what seemed like a split second, the bus stopped near the back gate of the park. They had already paid their entry tickets, so the guards would just open the gates and let them in. As a group of girls he did not knew personally hollered at Stephanie, he knew it was over. It was there that they would split up.

''Hey, Stephy, come here...''

Juan would have laughed had it been of this strange sensation in his throat, preventing him from doing anything. Stephanie turned to Juan, and smiled faintly. Juan, trying to save her from having to invent an excuse, talked first.

''We'll see each other later...''

He gave her a friendly punch on the shoulder, and smiled the best he could, even though his heart screamed the complete inverse emotions.

Against all odds, Stephanie's response was unpredictable, at least from Juan's point of view. She glanced at her friends, then turned back to Juan, and smiled.

''Come with us... There sure is place for you...''

This was no a question. And there was no possible other answer than yes. Juan had wanted an opportunity to be with that girl, and he had been given one. But he wasn't was enthusiast as he thought he would be. One problem was still standing. He didn't knew her friends, but, by the looks of it, they were not his kind of people to hang out with. Too extroverted for his taste.

But he could not refuse. He wanted to be with Stephanie so badly. He could suffer anything just to see her smile once again. He would make abstraction of his fear of being rejected. He needed to make more friends anyway.

He walked aside his friend toward the rest of the group. Literally, these guys were the opposite of himself. Juan was shy, and did not like to get attention. Obviously, those guys liked to get plenty of attention. One in particular almost made Juan laugh. He wore a white shirt with the word ''_shyne_'' on it, written in brilliant calligraphy.

He reached the group. He was greeted rather coldly by the other guys. And for the only two girls of the group, they smiled to him in such a fake plastic way Juan had no envy to talk to them.

After a quick deliberation, it was decided that the guy with the white shirt, whose name was Tommy, would choose the first ride to go on.

''Dude, we totally gotta do that one...''

He lifted his finger and pointed at the park's newest attraction. It was a very tall roller coaster. As Juan's eyes scanned the track, he could spot three very impressive loops, two tunnels and over eight very high drops. He felt like his choice might not have been that good after all.

His body reacting before his mind, he quickly turned his head and met Stephanie's gaze. During that second where their eyes were locked, he could feel all she was feeling. He could almost read her mind. His sight lost in the ocean of light blue, he could only hope that one day, this magnificent young woman would be his.

As the group continued toward the entrance, Juan and Stephanie hesitated an instant.

''Come on, you are going to miss the train...'' shouted Tommy.

As Juan arrived to the train, it was already starting. Stephanie, standing by his side, was silent.

''We'll take the next one...'' Juan said, not really wanting to do so.

Stephanie seemed lost in her thoughts for a few seconds. She then broke the silence.

''Juan... You mind if we don't...''

Stephanie stopped immediately, and blushed significantly. She then continued in a tone of growing nervousness.

''I mean if I... don't go in that one...''

''It'd alright... I didn't wanted to go in there at all neither...''

Without paying much attention to it, they moved away from the massive roller coaster. Juan sat on a bench near the exit. Stephanie followed him and took place to his side. At that moment, he wished more than ever that he had the strength to expose his affection for the girl he loved secretly. He wished he could simply kiss her. Place his hand on her cheek, lean forward and feel her breath on his face before their lips met. But he could not do so.

He however needed to get things clear with her. He could not hide it any longer. He would have liked to shout it randomly to get rid of this unpleasant, and extremely stressful task, but there was no such easy escape. He had to do it all. He had to say the words...

He started clearing his throat, but stopped, as he realized that the train for the roller coaster had just finished it's course. It meant that they could get interrupted at any moment by Stephanie's friends. This was no moment for a love declaration.

A few minutes passed, without any sign of her friends.

''Where are these guys?'' Stephanie said.

''Must've been delayed at the exit... Maybe one of them... had problems... with nausea tolerance...''

She smiled and turned back to the tall ride.

''Let's say so...''

After a few additional minutes, Juan got bored and stood up to stretch a bit. Then it all happened.

A few meters away, a tent used for some game had been set on fire, and what appeared like people danced around the frenzy as if they were trying to invoke some sort of goddess. It took several seconds to Juan to realize that they weren't dancing. They were actually on fire.

Not even glancing back at his friend, Juan ran closer to the stall, where he had a better view of the carnage.

Several men were burning as they walked the otherwise empty alley, their skin literally being peeled off by the heat and flames. They seemed to rot at an amazing speed, rather than burning. Even with all this fire ravaging their body, they kept walking toward the only human in a ten feet range : Juan.

They walked amazingly slowly, for people that were set on fire. But that, Juan realized it only afterwards. It was when he caught a glimpse at the people's eyes that he noticed something was off. Their entire ocular globes were white. Both the pupil and iris had faded away, and the only color found in it was too dry looking blood covering partly the sides of it.

The first man got even closer to him. Juan could see numerous deep stabs, bites and cuts on the man's charred skin. This guy could not have been alive. Not with the sort of wound he had suffered. He was dead. That was sure. How he was standing there, walking even, was a mystery, but nonetheless, this thing was dead.

Juan could not bring his eyes off the nameless thing. It was simply too unrealistic to be there. It could not exist. As the thing approached, Juan could feel the heat rising, proof that it was getting closer. He understood he was in danger only there.

But when he tried to move his legs in order to run away, or simply to walk backwards, it jammed. He could not get his muscles to work in coordination with his brains. Powerless to the situation at hand, he felt the dead man's rough touch on his forearm, and instantly felt painful burning on that spot. It was only then that he regained control of his body, as if pain had acted as an electroshock to wake him up.

He backed off quickly, still not moving his eyes. Then he thought of Stephanie, and his mind came back a little closer to normal. He turned around, ignoring the chill that went down his spine, and ran for the girl of his life.

She stood near the bench, unable to move, frozen by the unspeakable horror. As Juan neared her, she did not even notice him. She only gasped almost silently, fear taking control of her every movement. Juan tried to tell her something, but he could not. His throat refused to cooperate after what he had seen. He had trouble breathing, and felt dizzy suddenly.

He got closer to Stephanie, and placed his shaking hand on her shoulder. She turned to him suddenly, and nearly hit him. After she recognized him, she let her arm fall back to it's usual position, and turned her eyes back to the horrific scene.

''We... we... WE NEED TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!''

Stephanie turned back to Juan, usually calm, who had yelled those words with such force she stood numb for a while, trying to figure out what he had said. Juan did not liked to yell, but it was the way it had came out of his throat.

It had the wanted effect. Both Juan and Stephanie turned around and started running toward the first building in sight. No even noticing what it was, they ran inside and rammed in the first door. It opened after Juan had almost broken it open. They ran inside, and shut the heavy door back. They were in a washroom, Juan noticed, still dazed by the improbable appearance. He grabbed a broom placed against the wall in the corner, and placed it on the door, barring the handle.

Then, and only then, he locked eyes with Stephanie. In her eyes, he could see all the questions she was asking herself. He had the same ones in his head at the moment. Only, any of them both had yet to find words to describe what they had seen. They stood there, in a corner of the washroom, looking at each other straight in the eyes, in total silence, trying to figure out what had gone wrong with that day...


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3_**

**_Here goes the third one... Please review..._**

Juan lost trace of the time at a point, and he could not tell for how long they had been in that washroom, looking at each other, panicking inside, trying to stay calm outside. But at a point, it was not concealable anymore. They had not exchanged a single word since the start of it. The sole sound of the water dripping from the sink was breaking the silence. Neither Stephanie nor Juan had found the courage to get up and close it properly. There was no point in this.

The entire world was totally pointless. What the hell where those thing? Juan had his head full of dark schemes to explain what they were, but none of it really made sense. Stephanie had stayed silent since the start, and seemed even more troubled than Juan. She kept staring at the wall behind Juan, never crossing his gaze more than one second. He would have reassured her, if only he had been slightly reassured himself. But he was frightened as hell. He didn't want to talk about these things. If he did not mention them, perhaps he would forget about them.

But the thought of those fearsome monsters could not be erased from Juan's mind. He felt trapped, both physically and mentally. And, most of all, he could not stand this silence between him and Stephanie. He needed to do something, or he would simply turn nuts.

Frustration ran through his body as he stood straight. He walked to the door, checked the improvised lock set on the handle, and pondered silently. There was no way he was going out there with those things. But he could not stand the coldness of the washroom, and the silence that filled every centimeter of it.

Trying to find something to do to prevent his mind from having disturbed thoughts, Juan walked to the sink and shut it properly. Slightly relieved, he turned back to Stephanie, who had not moved from her spot. He tried to squeeze a few words, or at least a smile, but his mouth was blocked. His mind was running crazy.

He could not help but picture mentally the monster that had chased him outside. He was so deep in this sort of horrific show playing in his mind that he did not notice Stephanie getting up and walking toward him.

It was only when she reached him that her pretty face chased away the death and blood that tinted his mind.

She stopped right in front of him, at about twenty centimeters. Juan paid close attention to the expression on her face, and noticed that her lip was twitching at a point. Se was trying to say something, but she could not. Juan know that. He felt the same way since her had met her.

The stood a long moment like this. Juan could feel her breath on his neck. At a point he imagined it was her hands that he felt. He starred in the blue of her eyes, lost in the perfection of the magnificent color.

Juan felt a soft touch on his body, a very pleasurable sensation. It took a long moment to Juan to fully comprehend the situation at hand. When he finally did so, he smiled widely, and felt the pain and fear being washed away.

She had fallen in his arms, trembling with fear. She had her arms wrapped around him, and her head on his shoulder, eyes shut. Juan ran a hand in Stephanie's hair, and held her closer. Not a even a single word was exchanged, however Juan did not felt the need to do so anymore. He just wanted to enjoy this moment of tenderness with Stephanie.

He concentrated on this situation of incredible perfection. Time slowed down, and Juan could feel Stephanie's head on his shoulder. He lowered his hand slightly and played in her neck softly. He could sense she was calming down. She needed him as much as he needed her. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. He could sense it. He could not tell whether this want was physical, or emotional, or both, but he knew one thing for sure : he loved her.

In this mist of confused emotions and disturbed thoughts, Stephanie appeared as a lighthouse stranded in the middle of the fog, to guide Juan throughout this unwanted course of events. Now that he had Stephanie so close to him, he felt the former situation coming back at him. He was stuck in this bathroom, with no other exit than this door probably surrounded by hundreds of these mindless things. Juan hesitated on the word to employ to name them. They weren't alive, they weren't dead. To say the whole truth, they didn't even looked human at all. Only the shape of the human body reminded them that those things had once been humans like themselves.

Nonetheless, Juan still held the girl he loved tightly in his arms. At a point, their bodies separated once more, and the world turned back into gray and death.

They had to get out of there. They would not last long outside, but it was better than just rotting inside the small room. Juan broke the silence, his voice trembling a bit.

''We... we got to get out of here...''

Stephanie nodded. She knew it too.

Juan went for the door, and placed his hand down on the cold metal handle. He pulled the heavy door toward him, backing up a bit, and gazed upon the total desolation that had taken place while they were in the washroom.

The sky had turned to shades of gray, and the horizon was only broken by an huge ferris wheel far away, stopped in the middle of it's course. The roller coaster was still standing proudly next to the building, to the left. But the trains were not moving anymore. The path from which they had fled inside the washroom was now empty. Only a few discarded newspapers and soda cans laid where the monsters had been not so long ago.

Juan made a step forward, but felt something holding his arm. He turned back to see Stephanie holding him back.

''What if these things... are still down there?''

''I don't know... But don't worry. All we need is something to protect ourselves.''

Juan scanned the area around him, searching for a potential weapon. But, even in the chaotic state the zone was in, there was none. No odd steel pipe or plank of wood, nothing like that. And that enraged Juan more than anything. He was vulnerable, and he had no ways of protection Stephanie had something attacked them at that point.

He still had Stephanie's hand around his arm. It was the only thing keeping him from sinking into a sea of grim thoughts about both the situation at hand and the future, if such an euphemism could still be employed in their situation.

They walked away from the building, fighting an urge to dive back inside the safe cocoon formed by the washroom. There was no point in hiding. On their own, they would not last long. They had to find other people. Strangely, despite the large number of students filling the alleys and paths of the park just moments ago, nobody was in sight. No matter in which direction the two survivors looked, nothing moved.

''Someone else must've survived somehow...'' Juan said.

Stephanie did not answer. She had a worried look on her face, but she forced a smile when Juan glanced at her. He smiled back, and patted her shoulder.

''Don't worry... We'll find help...''

She smiled. This time, it seemed less forced.

Fear was for now much more of an enemy than those things actually were. The fact that they had not showed since that point in front of the roller coaster was both welcomed and feared. While Juan was pleased that not a single one of those creatures had showed up yet to attack them, it was deranging that the things had vanished away without leaving any traces.

At a point, they reached a small-sized food court. Half a dozen restaurants were disposed around a square-shaped area filled with tables. A lone man was sitting back on a chair in the center of the room...


End file.
